China started tracking the movements of all new vehicles. The government says it would help track congestion and public security, but there are some concerns that it is likely to become another surveillance tool.

The program that the Chinese government started will make it possible to track citizens’ cars using RFID chips installed on windshields which will help study and manage traffic, pollution, and public security. The program started rolling out on July 1st and will be voluntary at first but mandatory for new vehicles in 2019.

By forcing drivers to have chips installed on their vehicles, China’s Ministry of Public Security, and the ministry’s Traffic Management Research Institute will also help bolster the domestic chip industry. More »

Kroger is testing using driverless vehicles to deliver groceries, the supermarket chain announced last week.
Kroger, the giant supermarket chain based in Cincinnati, is partnering with autonomous car company Nuro to launch a test of grocery delivery by driverless vehicles.
Nuro is a Silicon Valley tech company that has developed a small, self-driving vehicle specifically for delivery. Customers in the pilot program will be able to place their delivery orders through Kroger’s ordering system ClickList and Nuro’s application.
Kroger has made a series of investments over the past few months to expand its digital and online delivery business. The company bought meal kit company Home Chef and announced its plans to work with British online grocer Ocado in order to build automated warehouses throughout the U.S. It also bought meal kit company Home Chef. More »

Ford has been using Miami as a testing ground for its autonomous cars for the past few months. Driven by its determination to deliver fully-autonomous vehicles by 2021, Ford is currently working really smart to make sure its plans will be carried out. Ford has been working on delivering fully-autonomous vehicles by 2021 for a long time.
Ford announced that it would launch a service to test self-driving food delivery in Miami. Earlier this year, Ford Motor signed up a partnership with a delivery startup Postmates, based in San Francisco to test the capacity of their self-driving vans. Another agreement includes a two-month pilot period with Domino’s Pizza. More »

Cullinan has arrived and it is definitely the ultimate luxury SUV. The Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV made its world debut in London on Thursday.

Rolls-Royce has officially joined the off-road club. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG brand took the wraps off its first SUV, revealing to the world a $325,000 machine.
As expected, from hints Rolls-Royce has dropped in recent months, the Cullinan comes with a 6.75 liter, twin-turbo V12 Rolls-Royce engine that delivers 563 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. This is the same engine Rolls-Royce put in the Phantom, which also shares the SUV’s aluminum-intensive platform. More »

Pentagon is likely to beat Uber and Telsa in the race over self-driving vehicles.

The Pentagon could beat the big competitors in the race to develop self-driving vehicles such as autonomous tanks to deliver food and fuel on the battlefield.

Michael Griffin, the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said at a hearing on Capitol Hill this month that the U.S. Department of Defense is going to make self-driving vehicles for the needs of the Army before “we’ll have self-driving cars on the streets.”

Dubai will begin testing smart license plates. Vehicles will be fitted with smart plates featuring digital screens, GPS, and transmitters by which messages can be displayed and cars tracked.

The plates will be able to contact the emergency services and the police in the event of a crash and allow communication with the other drivers on the road about hazards in the road or other traffic conditions. The head of Dubai’s Vehicle Licensing Department says that the devices will allow a quicker emergency response if the car is stolen. Along with its communication features, the digital plate will also allow easier access to services such as registration renewal, tolls, and parking fines.More »

Ferrari claims it is building an all-electric supercar that will compete with the next-generation Tesla Roadster and the Italian carmaker will be the first company to bring an EV supercar to market.

Ferrari is challenging Tesla by jumping into the electric car space. Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive Officer of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said on Tuesday at the Detroit auto show that the car manufacturer plans to build the first electric supercar. Marchionne said that if there was an electric supercar to be built, then Ferrari would be the first. More »

According to the American Automobile Association, the number of travelers hitting the road from Wednesday through Sunday, is expected to swell to levels not seen in the last 12 years, triggering record traffic delays in some of the country’s biggest cities, including Chicago.

Daimler is planning to invest $1 billion into electric car production in its Alabama plant, the company said Thursday in a statement.
Daimler will try to take on Tesla’s Model X by making Daimler the first European company to assemble electric SUV in the U.S. as it is starting to assemble electric sport utility vehicles in its facility in Alabama.
Daimler, the parent company of luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz, announced plans to invest $1 billion to start production of plug-in autos in the U.S.
The Stuttgart-based company will use the sum to expand the 20-year-old Vance facility, in Alabama, where Mercedes already makes SUVs. More »

The new Nissan Leaf will operate with just one pedal.Less than a month ahead of the official reveal of the 2018 Nissan Leaf on September 6, Nissan announced that the highly anticipated 100% electric car will be launched with only one pedal, the e-Pedal, an innovative technology that will transform the way you drive a car.
More details have been released about the second generation of the electric car.
Nissan’s brand-new version of its electric car, the Leaf, will be fully unveiled on September 6 when the car will showcase its single pedal mode for accelerating and decelerating. The company claims that this innovative concept is being introduced for the first time in a novel way and the e-Pedal is “the world’s first one-pedal operation.” More »